CHAPTER 1

TRANSLATION: SCIENCE, ART OR BOTH?

Although translation is almost as old as humankind, the concept of Translation Studies is a modern one, since this
discipline has not been highly considered in the scientific world until quite recently, probably, because of its status
as something inherent to humankind and language. Written and oral translation, understood as the task of
transferring a set of signs from a source language (SL) to a different set of signs following the rules of the target
language (TL), has existed for millennia.

Jakobson defined three main types of translation:

• Intralingual translation: interpretation of verbal signs by means of different verbal signs of the same
language
o It usually takes place in writing > when an author tries to persuade his/her readers of a particular
point of view
o When we speak and rephrase something to make ourselves understood better.
o Audio-visual translation in the form of subtitling
• Interlingual translation: interpretation of verbal signs by means of some other language
o translation involving the change from one language to another.
• Intersemiotic translation: interpretation of verbal signs by means of signs of non-verbal systems.
o A composer inspired by a narrative and creates a musical piece
o A particular musical composition can be translated into a dance choreography and then into a film

Translation dates back to the origins of the contact between civilisations. The translation of religious texts, that have
been the focus of translation for centuries, can be seen as an instance of the conflicting relationships that have
always existed between translation and ideology, where more complex issues may arise.

Translation stands among the most prominent sciences and arts, given that thanks to translation we communicate,
we understand other sciences, political issues are discussed, works of art are reproduced in other languages and sign
systems can be accessed.

1.1 Understanding the History of Translation

Roman times:
• Cicero would write about the need to translate not ‘word for word’, but ‘sense for sense’
• Translations were already used to enrich the people’s own cultural, linguistic and literary systems.

After the Romans:

• Saint Jerome’s translation of the Bible into Latin is always cited next when the history of translation is
referred to
o Made one of the clearest distinctions between word-for-word and sense-for sense
▪ Translations of sacred texts “must be literal, word for word, because even the word order
of the original is a holy mystery”
▪ Translations of other types of texts should be done sense for sense because a literal
translation would often sound absurd.

Middle Ages >

• translation changed from being the task of the poet to that of the theologian or the philosopher.
• More translations were from Latin, Greek or Arab, and translation also started to be used in education
• Greatest change > raise of vernacular literatures and the subsequent addition of vernacular glosses to Latin
translations
o The role of vernacular translation began to be crucial in instruction as well as in the progress of
literary translation.
• Two types of translation:
o Vertical > translation from a prestigious language into the corresponding vernacular one
 o Horizontal > between languages of similar status
• Roger Bacon > mentioned the absence of established foreign-language training at the time

15th century > greatest change for translation > invention of the printing press
• William Caxton > first English printer and also a translator > discussed on the problems of translating dialects
• Martin Luther > cared about the reader’s perception of the translated texts
o Translations should be written using correct forms that sound natural in the TL
• Juan Luis Vives > his contribution lies more on the didactics of translation as well as on its pedagogical uses.
• Etienne Dolet’s five principles of Translation Theory
o The translator must perfectly understand the sense and material of the original author. He also
should feel free to clarify obscurities
o The translator should have perfect knowledge of both SL and TL, so as not to lessen the majesty of
the language.
o The translator should avoid word-for-word renderings,
o The translator should avoid Latinate and unusual forms
o The translator should assemble and liaise words eloquently to avoid clumsiness.

17th century > brought about a new linguistic and translation related need: the establishment of a lingua franca.
• Most scientists, who faced the dilemma of either publishing their works in vernacular language or in Latin
at the time, opted for both and closely monitored their corresponding translations
• Poets of the time, such as Sir John Denham, started to talk about translation as an art that goes far beyond
the mere transfer of linguistic forms
o However, Denham’s view on the possible existence of really good literary translations was rather
pessimistic
• The great British poet, John Dryden, put together the main translation methods that could be said to exist
at the time.
o Metaphrase, or turning an author word by word, and line by line, from one language into another.
o Paraphrase, where the author is kept in view by the translator, so as never to be lost, but his words
are not so strictly followed as his sense; and that too is admitted to be amplified, but not altered.
o Imitation, where the translator assumes the liberty, not only to vary from the words and sense,
but to forsake them both as he sees occasion; and taking only some general hints from the original,
to run division on the groundwork, as he pleases.
▪ Dryden opted for the second type, and conceived the translator as an artist who had to
know both languages perfectly well so that he could really transfer the work of art into a
different language creating another piece of art that would resemble the ST as much as
possible.

18th century > a few authors reacted against this idea of paraphrase
• Alexander Fraser Tytler summarized the essential laws any translation should follow:
o The translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work
o The style and manner of writing should be of the same character with that of the original
o The translation should have all the ease of the original composition
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe argued that if the translator wanted to keep the spirit of the source text (ST),
literality was the only choice, with the natural consequence of an unnatural TT in linguistic terms;
conversely, if the translator wanted to write a natural text in the TL, the spirit of the text would be lost, and
the result would be a mere version of the original work
• August Wilhelm von Schlegel’ views on translation as either mechanical or a creative task that considered
“the translator as a visible genius who enriched the target language and literature”.

Romantic period > translation entered the period with a philosophical stance
• Friedrich Schleiermacher > contrasted two basic methods:
o “reader-to-author” > this is accurate and correct, but stays close to the SL in that it keeps elements
that are alien to the target readers, who reads TT as a translation
o “author-to-reader” > brings the text closer to the TL readers, naturalising all elements that could
make them realise they are reading a translated text
 • Wilhelm von Humboldt wrote about the idea of untranslatability departing from the linguistic conception
of reality. However, he put forward the relevance of translation as a universal tool of communication among
cultures.

19th century
• The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley expressed the impossibility of the existence of really good literary
translations
• Matthew Arnold advised readers to trust scholars, and defended the pre-eminence of the ST over the TT
versions, producing rather literal translations to be read by a minority of cultivated readers.

Industrial Revolution > deprived translation of the value and position it had in the previous centuries by almost
relegating the role of the translator.

1.2 Translation from the 20th century Onwards

Along the first half of the 20th century, different linguists and philosophers offered various and interesting ideas that
helped to establish the final status of the discipline of Translation Studies as such.
• Walter Benjamin argued that languages have a common core (“pure language”) and the translator has the
task of finding and reproducing it. Thus, he introduces the role of translation as a form of artistic writing at
the level of poetry or drama.
• Eugene Nida started to establish the role of translation as a science in the academic realm > the translated
message should be perceived by the TT reader as it is by the ST reader.
o He made the distinction between:
▪ Formal equivalence > is related to the linguistic content and forms themselves, and
implies few changes between the source and the target texts; it is ST oriented and helps
establish accuracy and correctness in the translation.
▪ Dynamic equivalence considers the necessary changes that need to be made in order to
transfer the messages behind the signs; it is a reader-oriented approach that considers
grammar, lexical and cultural adaptations acceptable if needed, so as to achieve
naturalness in the translated text.

Undoubtedly, the 20th century was the time of great linguistic figures and theories: Saussure, Chomsky or Jakobson.
It was also the century that saw the development and configuration of other relevant current linguistic trends:
• Discourse Analysis. It is a discipline that studies how the final text, or product, is put together in terms of
form, as well as the negotiations that produce such text, that is the process. The immense significance of
the ‘process’ started to be considered in depth in the 20th century.
• Science of psycholinguistics applied to translation, trying to decipher the translation process and see what
goes on in the translator’s mind

Focusing on the end of the 20th century, we should talk about communicative and functional approaches, which
helped to redefine translation as a “communicative process which takes place within a social context”. Translation
is a strong weapon that plays an important role in cultural, social and even political progress.

Finally, the modern philosophical approaches, like that of George Steiner, reintroduced the concept of
hermeneutics, which put forward the term ‘hermeneutic motion’, claiming to explore the act of translation in its
entirety, considering translation “not as a science, but as an exact art”. Hence, Steiner defines translation as a
hermeneutic activity that consists of four parts:

• Trust: the initial confidence of the translator on the value of the ST that need to be communicated to the
target audience
• Aggression: the translator invades the ST to take something (words and meaning) away.
• Incorporation: the translator’s action of assimilating the ST into the TL and culture, conforming to target
norms completely, eliminating any trace of the ST.
• Restitution: stage where the translator, after the second and the third phases, tries to restore the balance
his/her intrusion has disrupted.
Steiner’s fourfold definition of translation was very influential and helped to introduce non-specialists to the world
of translation theory.

1.2.1 Translation Studies (TS): an Overview

The relevance of the different approaches to translation in the 20th century increasingly pointed towards the need
for the discipline to have a scientific status of its own. It led to the emergence of Translation Studies, the term used
when people refer to translation as a science. TS is presently considered an interdisciplinary and transversal science
that involves several other disciplines.

The origins of TS date back to 1972, where James S. Holmes defined TS as a scientific discipline that would deal with
a whole “complex of problems clustered round the phenomenon of translating and translations.

The author divided Translation Studies into:

• Pure > divided into two sub-branches
o Descriptive > describing the phenomena of translation
o Theoretical > explaining and predicting such phenomena through the establishment of general
principles
• Applied > concerning translator training, translation aids and translation criticism

His work represented a major step forward in the history of translation. In fact, Translation Studies has acquired
enough scholarly status. However, we should always bear in mind that translation is a transversal science. In this
line, Holmes considered three possible orientations in terms of Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS):

• Product-oriented: descriptive analysis of existing translations

• Function-oriented: the function of translation in the target socio-cultural situation, a study of contexts
• Process-oriented: the task of translation itself.

Today, TS can be said to constitute a consolidated (inter)discipline, the deep-rooted academic influence and
expansion of which is evident in the numerous relevant authors, research papers and conferences dealing with
matters related to translation, as well as in the growing number of higher education programmes and professional
associations centred around this subject.

CHAPTER 2

LINGUISTIC LAYERS IN TRANSLATION: A LOOK AT THE BASICS

Translators, when facing a source text (ST), do not stay at the word level; they go far beyond in order to produce the
target text (TT). Translating rarely implies just changing words and sentences from one language into another; it
requires a wide background knowledge of the subject matter as well as a commitment to individual, company or
institutional ethics.

2.1 Word Level: a First Step

The challenge when it comes to translating words is that meaning is rarely stable, given that polysemy and
homonymy happen very frequently and they usually step in the way of equivalence, making perfect correspondences
hardly ever possible. When we contrast the meaning a word has in one language with its meaning in another, the
different types of lexical meaning need to be considered as a point of departure.

• Propositional meaning > it arises from the relation between the word and what is refers to or describe.
This type of meaning can clearly be described as true or false
o ‘Ballet’ refers to a type of dance, not to a food
 • Expressive meaning > it relates to the speaker’s feelings or attitude, rather than to what words and
utterances refer to. Words may have only propositional meaning (‘car’), only expressive meaning (‘gosh’),
or both (‘hell’). Hence, removing words with only expressive meaning will not alter the information content
of the message, but only the attitude expressed by the speaker
o ‘a hell of’ could naturally be omitted without altering the message.
One must be careful, though, since the same word may carry different expressive meanings in two
languages and this can cause translation problems.
o ‘bloody’ in English and sangriento in Spanish
• Presupposed meaning > it arises from restrictions on what other words or expressions we expect to see
before or after a particular lexical unit. Restrictions may be:
o Selectional > connected to the propositional meaning of a word
▪ ‘delicious’ is normally expected to be accompanied by some kind of food
o Collocational > restrictions linked to usage
▪ ‘tap’ – related to dance – gives way to ‘tap dance’, ‘tap shoes’ or ‘tap dancer’
• Evoked meaning > it relates to dialect and register.
o Words like ‘chips’ and ‘fries’ (geographical), ‘pal’ and ‘friend’ (social) or ‘grandpa’ and ‘grandfather’
(tenor) differ not in their propositional but in their evoked meaning

There are plenty of words for which direct equivalents exist (‘ear’, ‘tree’, ‘car’, etc.), and the presence of various
types of meaning within a single word that imply frequent subtleties in language does not necessarily mean that
when translate it is essential to think about the exact type/s of meaning we are trying to convey. However, when a
particular translation problem at word level arises, we should stop to thing about the cause a particular type of
meaning we are missing, or simply a type that we find difficult to transfer.

Common problems of non-equivalence at word level may be caused by the large variety of translation contexts.

• We can find culture-specific concepts >

o like ‘Bonfire Night’ in English
• a particular concept in the source language (SL) may not be lexicalised in the target language (TL):
o like Spanish matanza or English ‘pudding’.
• We may find a word in the SL that is semantically complex:
o ‘get’ in English
• Situations where both the SL and the TL make different distinctions in meaning >
o we can compare all the rain-related verbs English has with the smaller amount of them that may
exist in other languages
• We can face situations involving false friends: ‘eventually’, ‘actually’ or ‘facilities’

Some of the main strategies commonly used by translators:

STRATEGIES EXAMPLES

Translation by a more general word (superordinate) ‘lap dance’ – baile

Translation by a more specific word ‘colour’ – rojo

Translation by explanation ‘Bonfire Night’ – el 5 de noviembre, fiesta en el Reino

Unido
 Translation by a more neutral/less expressive Word ‘exhusted’ – cansado

Translation by word category change ‘Be warned’ – Una advertencia

Translation by cultural substitution ‘Eastern pudding’ – torrijas

Translation by using a loan word or a loan word plus ‘bullying’ – bullying

an explanation
‘i-Tunes’ – iTunes, una aplicación de música

Translation by paraphrase using related or unrelated ‘a gap year’ – un año de descanso antes de la universidad
words
‘line dance’ – baile de country americano

Translation by omission ‘a unique and utterly satisfying experience’ – una

experiencia gratificante única

2.2 Moving Up: Collocations, Idioms and Fixed Expressions

Given that single words rarely appear on their own, translators usually need to focus on longer chains of lexical
elements. Collocations, idioms and fixed expressions are the most common lexical patterns that deserve attention
in this regard.

Collocations is the tendency certain words have to occur together frequently in a given language: ‘chair a
meeting’, ‘spare time’.

There are two important concepts that need to be considered when translating collocations:

• Collocational range > set of words (or collocates) which are typically associated with a particular word
o the more general and polysemous the word is, the wider its range
• Collocational markedness > refers to how common the collocation is
o A collocation that features an unusual combination of words is often described as marked > they
often appear to cause a humorous effect or are used in advertising or poetry to emphasise a
specific idea.

However, no aspect of language remains fixed over time; consequently, new collocations are constantly created,
and while some of them catch on, others stay marked for a period of time and then disappear.

Them most common collocation-related pitfalls and problems in translation are:

COMMON PITFALLS EXAMPLES

The engrossing effect of This happens when translators transfer the collocation from the ST to the TT instead
source text patterning of looking for a natural equivalent. This is sometimes the case in dubbing, normally as
a way to match the character’s mouth movements.
 ‘take a shower’ > tomar una ducha

Misinterpreting the This usually happens when there is a similar collocation in the TL and so the SL one is
meaning of a SL misinterpreted
collocation
‘make room’ > *hacer la habitación, instead of hacer hueco

Tension between Translating a collocation in the ST by an equivalent one in the TT should be both
accuracy and accurate and natural but this is not always possible. Translating ‘he got the sack’ by le
naturalness despidieron may be natural, but the collocation is lost.

Culture specific They usually involve the need for a certain degree of information expansion or a total
collocations adaption to the TL equivalent

‘break a leg’ > mucha mierda

Marked collocations in If possible, they should also appear in the TT as marked collocations. The famous
the ST movie From Dusk till Dawn is a good example that could give way to a number of
possibilities. (Toda la santa noche would be marked, but maybe not natural enough
for a film title).

Idioms are frozen patterns of language which allow little or no variation in form. They often carry meanings
which cannot be deduced from the words that constitute them. Example: ‘Once in a blue moon’.

There are several things you cannot do with idioms:

• Change the order of the words >

o ‘separate sheep from goats’ cannot be phrased as *separate goats from sheep
• Delete words from it
o ‘waiting in the winds’ loses its meaning phrased as *’waiting in winds’
• Add a word to it
o ‘cry *over *the *split milk’ would not be correct
• Replace a word with another
o ‘kill *three birds with one stone’ would not mean nothing as an idiom
• Change its grammatical structure
o ‘curiosity killed the cat’ needs to use the past tense

Fixed expressions are frozen patterns of language which allow little or no variation in form.

When we come to deal with fixed expressions we find rather similar lexical patterns that allow no variation in form.
However, unlike idioms, they often have clear meanings that can be derived from their components

Examples: ‘given the circumstances’, ‘for the record’, ‘behind someone’s back’, ‘happy New Year’.

In translation, idioms are usually more challenging to deal with than fixed expressions. First of all, because the
translator may not recognise the lexical pattern s/he is trying to translate as an idiom. There are two cases in which
idioms can be easily misinterpreted:

• “misleading” idioms that look transparent, but are not what they seem > ‘to get to first base’
• Cases where there is “a very close counterpart in the TL with a totally or partially different meaning” > ‘be
tickled pink’ means being happy in English, whereas ponerse rojo in Spanish refers to feeling embarrassed.

The main difficulties idioms and fixed expressions may pose appear when there is a lack of equivalent (translating
‘cheap as chips’ into Spanish would require a particular strategy) or when an idiom is used both in its literal and its
idiomatic sense (humorous situations). It should be noted that idioms are often related to a specific context of use,
so the TL idiom or solution chosen must also adapt to the corresponding text.

The main translation strategies that may be used to deal with idioms are:

STRATEGIES EXAMPLES

Using an idiom of similar meaning and form ‘all in the same boat’ – Todos en el mismo barco

‘Do not bite the hand that feeds you’ > No muerdas la
mano que te da de comer

Using an idiom of similar meaning, but dissimilar form ‘A piece of cake’ > Es pan comido

‘Count the chickens before they are hatched’ >

Vendiendo la piel del oso antes de cazarlo

Translation by paraphrase ‘No pain, no gain’ > Sin esfuerzo no se consigue nada

‘Bark up the wrong tree’ > Acusar a la persona

equivocada

Translation by omission of the play of the idiom ‘Get under your skin’ > Poner de los nervios

Borrowing the source language idiom Examples of this type can be found in film titles like
Hard Candy

Translation by complete omission of the idiom This is often accompanied by compensation at some
other point in the sentence or in the text

What really matters when it comes to translating collocations, idioms and fixed expressions is creating a TT that is
not foreign, but natural and fluent enough to the point that it could give the impression of having been written
originally in the TL. This translation layer is complex enough and an inadequate solution could make readers stop
and thing about how strange a particular phrase may seem in the middle of the text they are reading. If that happens,
the whole text may fail to convey the intended message in a fluent, accurate and natural manner.

2.3 More than Words: Translating Grammar

Morphology and syntax need to be considered too when translating. Morphology refers to the form of words that
carry grammatical structure, while syntax refers to functional elements involved in the linear sequence of words in
a sentence. So, within grammar, we could speak of both formal and functional equivalence.

The main grammar concepts of number, gender, person, tense and aspect, and voice differ from language to
language and may cause a series of translation problems.

Number expresses the countability of language and it adopts different forms and conventions across languages.

• There are occasions where number may be represented differently in the SL and in the TL > second person
pronoun ‘you’ is both singular and plural in English while Spanish needs two forms to distinguish its number,
tú and vosotros, and it adds the formal usted and ustedes
• There may be number distinction in one language but not in another > English does not pluralise adjectives
while Spanish does.
Gender is the grammatical distinction according to which a noun or pronoun may be classified as either masculine
or feminine.
• While Spanish is a language that marks nouns, adjectives, pronouns and determiners in terms of gender,
English lacks a clearly marked category of gender, and just differentiates some pairs of nouns used to refer
to male and female counterparts: ‘he’/’she’; ‘King’/’Queen’; ‘brother’/’sister’.
• When it comes to gender, inanimate beings should not be forgotten, especially when we need to consider
the agreement between the determiner, the noun, and/or the adjective. That may be especially
problematic because many words that refer to inanimate objects usually carry a culturally accepted gender
distinction. > ‘ship’ or ‘car’ are feminine in English while barco and coche are masculine in Spanish.

The notion of person is related to the role the various agents and participants of the actions included in a text have.
The most common distinction is that of first, second and third person, in both their singular and plural forms. English
and Spanish present rather similar systems as far as person is concerned. Nevertheless, they do differ in three
specific ways need to consider at all times:

• The pronoun usted, a mark of formal register, does not exist in the English system
• The use of pronouns is much more common in English than in Spanish, since the latter tends to omit them
when the reference is clear from the context, so English personal pronouns should not be translated into
Spanish as pronouns, except in those cases where they are strictly necessary
• The marking of possession is very common in English given its tendency to remind the addressee of the
person: ‘I have something on my knee’. However, in Spanish we tend to avoid redundancy and, whenever
the personal referent is clear, we avoid repeating it: Tengo algo en la rodilla.

The form of every verb we use typically indicates time relations (tense: locating an event in time, i.e., in present,
past or future), aspectual differences (aspect: completion or non-completion of an event, continuation or
momentariness, etc), and modality (mood: degree of necessity, obligation, probability or ability).

When it comes to compare English and Spanish, there are several differences to be mentioned:

• Tense > the existence of only one simple past form in English while Spanish presents two differentiated
simple past forms (pretérito imperfect and pretérito perfecto simple). Translators should be careful when
dealing with tense because no direct tense equivalence may be available in some occasions
o ‘he was being late’ > llegaba tarde
• Aspect > both languages differentiate between perfect (finished) and imperfect (unfinished) actions.
However, they use different tenses to do so.
o the pretérito imperfect is in fact imperfect in terms of aspect, while the only English simple past
form is perfect > ‘He was being late’ > llegaba tarde
• Mood > although indicative and imperative moods are easier to compare in both languages, the subjunctive
mood in Spanish is clearly defined, while English does not possess specific verbal forms to express this
mood, apart from the form ‘were’ of the verb ‘to be’. Hence, it expresses the subjunctive modality in various
forms, either with modal verbs or specific forms such as ‘I wish’ or ‘If only’, for example.
o ‘If only you sang a bit better’ > Ojalá cantaras un poquito major

The last grammar category to discuss is voice, which can be defined as the relationship that exists between the
subject and the verb. The active voice is used when the subject is responsible for performing a specific action, while
the passive voice makes the subject affected by the action. According to Baker, “the use of the passive voice is
extremely common in English and can pose serious problems in translation”. This is the case when English is
translated into Spanish, since a great amount of passive uses in English should not be transformed into an equivalent
passive form in Spanish if we want to create a natural and accurate TT.

When we deal with translation at grammar level, two main strategies are typically considered:

• Grammatical transposition > it replaces the SL grammar forms with more natural alternatives in the TL
without altering the message
o ‘she already had her car repaired’ > ya ha reparado el coche
 • Modulation > it changes the message in grammatical terms by introducing a change of point of view
o ‘Almost done’ > Ya casi estamos

2.4 One More Layer: the Text as a Complete Linguistic Unit

Since the text is a complete unit that begins and ends, translators need to read it through before starting to translate
the different sentences that compose it. Every text conveys a particular message as a whole, is written in a specific
register and using a differentiated style to reach a distinct type of audience with a specific purpose. Besides, it
belongs to a characteristic genre (journalism, literature, religion, etc.) and to a text type (travel brochure, a research
article, etc.). All these elements should be understood and borne in mind before starting to translate.

Translation such as information flow, word order or linear arrangement are very relevant in translation.

Information flow > A clause is a message made up of two parts:

• Theme > what the clause is about

• Rheme > what the speaker says about the theme
o It represents the information the speaker or writer wants to convey to the hearer, and so, it is the
most relevant element in the clause structure.

In the sentence ‘This book deals with translation’, ‘this book’ is the theme and ‘deals with translation’ is the rheme.
In a linear distribution, theme always comes first and rheme goes right after. Hence, theme and rheme most typically
coincide with the subject/predicate distinction.

Thematic structure can be characterised either as acceptable or ill-formed, although an ill-formed version does not
have to be ungrammatical; it may simply not fit the surrounding elements of the text. A sentence such as ‘His friends
rescued him immediately after’ could be organised thematically in various ways: ‘He was rescued by his friends
immediately after’, ‘Immediately after, he was rescued by his friends’, or ‘What his friends did immediately after
was to rescue him’. Each of these alternatives will fit a particular linguistic context and information structure, and
the right choice will be given by the surrounding elements, especially by the previous thematic structure within the
text, since the corresponding theme will have to keep a natural information flow.

Although rheme is more important than theme as far as the message is concerned, in organisational terms,
considering the text as a whole, theme has a more relevant role, since it represents the point of departure of the
speaker/writer in each single clause. Since thematic structure is paramount for good writing (as well as to speak
through well-formed texts), translators need to deal with this type of choices very carefully so as to produce an
accurate and readable TT. Although some thematic structures may be perfectly preserved when translating, others
need to be changed to make the text natural and fluent in the TL. Take, for example, the clause ‘and I impatiently
look forward to…’, translated as Así que aguardo impacientemente…, which is thematically unmarked in both texts,
but presents a different thematic organisation in the TT to make the information flow more naturally for the TL
reader.

A thematic structure is marked when the choice of the theme is not the expected one; the least frequently an item
occurs in theme position, the more unmarked it is when it is used as theme. Hence, a noun or pronoun in a
declarative clause is the expected, totally unmarked choice in English, whereas an adverb as theme is neither the
expected nor the most frequent choice. Hence, when it is used, there is often a reason to back up such change in
the point of departure: ‘Never did I understand that woman’.

The main types of marked themes in English that should be considered in translation are:

TYPES OF MARKED THEME EXAMPLES

Fronted theme > it involves moving to the initial ‘One day later he came to see me’ ‘To London he went’
position an item which is not commonly used as theme.
 We can front a time or place adjunct, an object or ‘A wonderful present he received’ ‘Carefully he
complement, or even the predicator approached’

‘Lost in the middle of the park he was’

Predicated theme > it involves the use of a cleft- ‘It was last Friday when I saw my sister’ ‘It was my sister
sentence (or it-structure) whereby an element is taken who I saw last Friday’
towards the beginning of the clause.

Identifying theme > it involves the use of ‘What I need to do is get some rest’
nominalisation by means of a pseudo-cleft sentence
‘What you should drink is more water’

English has such restrictions on word order that it uses marked themes more frequently than other languages such
as Spanish, which exhibit a more flexible order of constituents. That is why translators need to be fully aware of
these differences so as to distinguish what should remain marked in the TT from what can easily be translated as an
unmarked thematic structure.

Focus on some strategies to minimise ‘linear dislocation”, caused by the tension that may easily appear between
syntactic and information structure organisation in translation.

STRATEGY DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE

Voice change It can easily help reorganise the constituents in a ‘The house was destroyed by the
sentence in terms of information structure hurricane’ > El huracán destrozo la
casa.

Change of verb There are verbs with similar meanings that can ‘I bought it from his brother’ > Su
change the word order of the sentence without hermano me lo vendió
altering the message. (‘I gave it to him > He got it
from me’)

Nominalisation When a verb changes into a noun, the thematic ‘The authors analysed the role of
structure may easily change and the message subtitles…‘ > El ánalisis de los
may remain exactly the same. subtítulos llevado a cabo por los
autores

Extraposition Using cleft and pseudo-cleft sentences or ‘My cousin called your husband’ >
changing the word order Fue mi primo quien llamó a tu
marido

Turning to cohesion, it can be defined as the network of relations (lexical, grammatical, etc.) which provide the
necessary links between the various parts of a text, helping to make it a complete whole. For a text to have cohesion,
it needs to have objective surface cues that the reader can easily follow in a consistent manner to avoid confusion
of any sort. We should look at the relations that are created throughout any specific text by means of the various
available cohesive devices.

Reference is the relationship between a word and what it points towards the text. Chains of reference help the
writer/speaker avoid repetition along the discourse: pronouns, repetition, synonyms, general words or
superordinates are used to refer back to an entity previously mentioned in a particular text. English usually prefers
repetition and pronouns while Spanish tends to avoid repetition and prefers synonyms to avoid pronominal
reference overload.

Substitution and ellipsis are used to replace or omit previous grammatical items
• Substitution: ‘Do you want to come with us? I think I do
• Ellipsis: ‘Will you come with us? Yes, I will

Some common English substitution markers (‘I want the red one’) need to be translated using ellipsis in Spanish
(Quiero el rojo) and other common forms of ellipsis (‘Yes, I have’) are not even considered in Spanish (Si)

Conjunctions are the formal markers that help join sentences, clauses and paragraphs. They provide a connection
between given and new, theme and rheme, what was just said and what will be said next. They are used to signal
different types of relations, depending on the linguistic context of the message. There are four main types of
conjunctions:
• Additive: and, moreover
• Adversative: but, on the contrary, yet…
• Causal: so, because, thus…
• Temporal: then, finally, later on…

A language such as English that presents information in small chunks, with shorter sentences and clauses, and a very
specific punctuation system will make greater use of different types of conjunction than Spanish.

Lexical cohesion can be described as the selection of vocabulary made to organise chains of relations referring to a
previously mentioned entity within a text.

• Reiteration may point back to a previous item through repetition (his sister), a synonym (his sibling), a
superordinate (the girl) or a general word (the bookworm)
• Collocation refers back to a previous lexical item by means of a linguistic association of some sort, such as
opposite meaning (big/small), part-whole relations (house/door), part-part relations (webcam/mouse),
ordered series (metre/centimetre), co-hyponymy (soup/meatballs, tutu/pointe shoes) or other.

2.5 Beyond the Text: the Role of Pragmatics in Translation

Pragmatics is understood to be the study of aspects of meaning and language use that depend on the context of the
utterance, as well as on the speaker and the addressee. Translators need to make sure that they produce translations
that reflect these aspects of the linguistic message that go beyond the text.

Coherence can be understood as the conceptual structure which helps to put together the various clauses and
sentences that constitute a text. In this sense, it is also understood as the connection between the addressee’s
knowledge and the concepts of a given discourse. Hence, its interpretation may vary among readers/hearers.

Translators should always bear this concept in mind when building their TTs, creating the necessary logical and
linguistic connections. Given that coherence is a product of many different elements, it ends up being more
challenging to maintain in the TT for the mere reason that translators have less chances to really know all the
elements surrounding the message in a more explicit way, especially by paying attention to maintaining the linear
connection of senses within a text for the purpose of continuity.

Implicature refers to how readers/hearers can grasp more than what is said in a given text, since speakers/writers
can express something literally that in fact means something else.

There are some maxims that work together to make it work accordingly: the maxim of quantity (be informative), the
maxi of quality (be truthful), the maxi of relevance (be relevant), and the maxim of manner (avoid ambiguity). A
conversational implicature emerges when one or more of these maxims are not respected, e.g., if I say ‘Great job!’
after a fiasco, meaning that it was a disaster, I am flouting the maxim of quality.
In order to interpret implicatures correctly, translators need to know the context and the relationship between the
participants (if any) perfectly well, and the more background knowledge they have on the subject and the more they
know about the communicative situation, the better. If implicatures are not interpreted correctly, important
translation pitfalls may arise.

Translation strategies that may be used to counterbalance the potential challenges these two pragmatic notions can
introduce in the translation process are:

STRATEGY DESCRIPTION

Respecting the conventional meaning of words and Any translation pitfall at a lower level may affect the
structures interpretation of implicatures and the creation of the
overall coherence and continuity of a text.

Understanding the co-operative principle and its Different cultures respect Grice’s maxims in different
maxims and their differences across languages ways, especially in terms of linguistic politeness.

Being totally aware of the context of situation The communicative situation of the linguistic exchange,
the real ordering of events, and the speaker’s
expectations contribute to filtering out inappropriate
interpretations in the TT

Making use of background knowledge at all times
Linguistic information in a text can only make sense if it
can be related to other information the hearer of
reader of the TT knows about the world in general.
Background knowledge can often be used by the
translator to compensate for the different world views
presented in the two texts.

A translation usually fails if it does not fulfil the expectations raised by the readers/hearers, many of which are
framed around the pragmatic layer just described. This level of equivalence in translation, as subjective and difficult
to grasp and describe as it may seem, represents one of the most important stages of the translation process, since
the metaphoric circle the text could represent when it is considered as a whole cannot properly be closed without a
good understanding of coherence, the context of situation, background knowledge, and the potential implicatures.
UNIT 3 – THE TRANSLATION OF HUMANISTIC TEXTS: A PREMILINARY APPROACH
General (or non-specialised) translation has often dealt with both humanistic and literary texts, i.e., any text written
outside technical fields. Hence, humanistic texts cover any area of knowledge and human relationships, ranging from
journalism to philosophy, sociology, art, ethics, etc. The approach chose to undertake literary translation, in general,
can easily be explained together with the one employed for the translation of humanistic texts.

3.1 Translation as a Purposeful Task

Translation of humanistic texts should be considered a process of cultural rather than linguistic transfer, given that
the TTs need to be viewed in constant interaction with the cultures involved in the linguistic transfer. Languages are
complex entities that operate as part of cultures, and cultures differ from each other in multiple ways. Besides,
translation has to be understood as an act of communication where the interlocutors play a key role.

The Skopos Theory reflected a general shift from linguistic and formal translation theories to a more functionally
and socio-culturally oriented concept of translation. Skopos’ approach aims at emphasising the importance of the
purpose as a key element in the translation process. From this perspective, the form of a particular TT should, above
all, be determined by the skopos (purpose, function) that such text is to fulfil in the TL context. Every translation
presupposes a commission (an end) and is carried out according to that specific aim, which is normally specified by
the commissioner (or client). The translator is the expert who is responsible for the final TT and the skopos rule
states that we should translate so that our TT is able to function appropriately in the situation in which it will be used
and for the potential receivers who may want to use it.

This approach somehow degrades the ST by placing all the emphasis on the TT. An important advantage related to
this fact, though, is that the Skopos Theory “allows the possibility of the same text being translated in different ways
according to the purpose of the TT and the commission which is given to the translator”. It should be noted that
many literary texts sometimes have no specific purpose and that the linguistic features of the ST need to be seriously
considered when translating. Another problem is that the Skopos Theory does not deal with translation strategies
at different levels and, therefore, it does not give any suggestions or help on how to fulfil the skopos.

Where this functional approach becomes especially useful is when it is applied to real practice, where apart from
fulfilling functions specified in advance by the translation skopos, the TT needs to show fidelity towards both the ST
author and the TT recipient(s). Christian Nord’s model of Translation as a Purposeful Activity specified “three aspects
of functionalism that are particularly relevant in translation training”.

The importance of the translation brief should always provide information about the text functions, the addressees,
the time and place of the text reception, the medium of transmission, and the reason for the production or reception
of the TT. All these elements help the translator understand the translation process better and so prioritise any
necessary information.

In terms of the classification and hierarchisation of translation problems, it should be note that such problems are
always there and no generalisations are possible. Therefore, the translator is left with his/her own creativity to solve
them.

The role of source text- analysis. Nord distinguishes between:

• Extratextual factors > concern non-linguistic elements or situations:

o Sender and audience > actors involved in the text’s production and reception > cultural
background and linguistic community, which are different from each other, need to be taken into
account.
▪ Senders > the translator find himself in this situation
▪ Audience > the receivers of the TT
o Intention, medium, place, time, motive and function > provide the context of the production and
reception of the translation
▪ Intention > determines the text structure and its form
 • The translator should adhere to the intention when undertakes the creation of
the TT.
▪ Place and time > texts are linked to a certain place and a certain period, and conventions
may vary accordingly
▪ Motive > reasons the sender had to establish the corresponding communication with the
audience
▪ Medium > it is not the same translating for a newspaper than working on a poem, since
a series of expectations are inherent in each different medium.
▪ Text function > only by really grasping the ST function the translator can decide which TT
function or functions the TT will fulfil.

• Intratextual factors >

o subject matter, content, presuppositions > concern the overall idea of the text
▪ subject matter > restricts the possibilities for interpretation of the text, aids in the
translation of the text title, may provide information about some extratextual factors, and
establishes the coherence of the text.
▪ Content > examine the linking devices that appear in the text, as they are used to highlight
important information and maintain textual cohesion.
• Be aware that different languages use different linking devices for the same task
▪ Presuppositions > imply the knowledge of things that are assumed by the speaker/writer,
who expects the listener/reader to share certain presupposed knowledge
• The translator need to be aware of possible gaps in the background knowledge
of the intended TT recipients.
o text composition, lexical characteristics, syntactic structures > cover the structural linguistic
properties of the text
▪ Text composition > a text has a macrostructure, consisting of several microstructures
• The translator has to analyse the macrostructure of the text in order to
understand the relationship of the textual units within the text as a whole
• The microstructure of the text is found when we analyse the information flow
(theme and rheme organisation) of the various sentence that compose it.
▪ Lexical characteristics >
• The translator must choose the right words from all the possible translation
options in the TL.
▪ Sentence structure > the length and type of sentences varies not only between different
texts and authors, but obviously across languages
o suprasegmental features and non-verbal elements > apply to those properties that are not strictly
linguistic.
▪ Suprasegmental features > are those signalled by italics, bold type, marked punctuation,
underlining, dashes, emphasis, word order, rhythms, rhyme, etc.
• They are especially important in poetry
• Whenever the translation entails a problem related to suprasegmental features,
the translator needs to decide whether the effect of the text is preserved or
whether a documentary translation, with more emphasis on preserving original
communication between the ST and recipient, is better suited for the
corresponding purpose.
▪ Non-verbal elements > include photos, other images and different types of print and
layout
• If there are important non-verbal elements connected to the text, the translator
must take them into consideration, especially when the translation involves
editing the text.

Finally, the translator must decide which type of effect the TT should preserve in accordance to the translation
skopos. It is almost impossible to transfer the original effect complete and unchanged.
All the aforementioned factors are interdependent, since the subject matter will determine the content, and the
content will inevitably influence the presuppositions made by the sender and the recipients.

3.2 Dealing with Culture

The following chart presents a list of cultural categories and their scope that will help the reader comprehend the
possible ways of transferring cultural reference that will be subsequently discussed.

CULTURAL REFERENCE SCOPE EXAMPLES

(CATEGORY)

Ecology Flora, fauna, winds, plains, hills, Pino piñero, ‘Black Hills’, lince ibérico, ‘Great
mountains, etc. Plains’, viento de levante, ‘Bear Mountain’.

Material culture (artifacts) Food, clothes, houses, towns, Migas, ‘shepherds’ pie’, bata de cola, ‘ascot
countries, transport, etc. cap’, caserío vasco, ‘shotgun house’,
teleférico, ‘inland waterway’

Social culture Work and leisure Jornada continua, ‘ranger’, escuela bolera,
‘trainspotting’

Social organisation, political Customs, activities, procedures, Procesión, ‘Army Corps of Engineers’,
and administrative concepts, religion, history, art, etc. Transición Democrática, ‘The Big Issue’,
Misa del Gallo, ‘Bloody Mary’.

When translators have to deal with a cultural reference of any sort, they need to decide on the best way of
transferring it according to the field, tenor and mode of the text, paying special attention to the purpose of the
translation task and the background knowledge of the potential addressees.

3.2.1 Domestication and Foreignisation

Translation is a discipline that faces multiple challenges, among which the cultural values associated to a given text
may be one of the most complicated elements to deal with. We should never forget the fact that different cultural
and social referents included in a text may render a TT alien and incomprehensible for people who ignore the socio-
cultural features that are reflected in the ST. Some translators prefer to naturalise the SL values, adapting them to
the receiving culture. This choice is commonly known as domestication.

Domestication entails a change or substitution of the ST cultural values by those belonging to the TL, so that they
are totally intelligible for the TL recipients. An example could be substituting a US sports star by a Spanish one.

Foreignisation involves a clear respect for diversity on the part of the translator who prefers readers to experience
the unfamiliarity and strangeness of the SL culture.

These two options may be considered somewhat extreme if they are strictly followed. Domestication may change
the original too much while foreignization may only be accessible for cultivated readers. When relevant socio-
cultural referents need to be transferred, the translator should take a justified and consistent decision on how to
deal with such elements throughout the text.
An absolute choice of total domestication or total foreignization rarely occurs. Both options may be present in
various degrees at different stages in the same text. Sometimes, domestication strategies are necessary because we
usually know little about the popular culture of the TL. For example, a joke of a TV series involving a cultural reference
would probable be lost in the TT foreignization were chosen as a solution for dubbing. Fortunately, there are various
degrees of domestication that could be used, depending on the translation context in order to minimise the
domestication effect.

Given that domestication allows for the creation of a natural and smooth text, but somehow violates authenticity
and faithfulness and foreignization keeps the flavour of the foreign text, but it may end up destroying the
expectations of the TT readers, intermediate points are preferred.

3.2.2 The Concept of Cultural Transposition

The concept of cultural transposition in translation is to talk about a scale of possible solutions translators may give
to a particular cultural reference that appears in the ST. The options available are seen as part of a continuum that
goes from exoticism to total adaptation to the TL culture:

1. Exoticism > 2. Cultural borrowing > 3. Calque > 4. Communicative translation > 5. Cultural transplantation

Exoticism involves taking the SL cultural element and include it as such in the TT. This type of choice should be
justified within the context of the translation and similar choices in the TT need to be consistent enough.

Cultural borrowing occurs when the word is borrowed as a term, somehow adopted in the TL through custom, either
verbatim or adapted to TL spelling conventions in some way. Words like bullying, remake, corn flakes, marketing or
tuitear are examples of cultural borrowings. Given that there are TL alternatives to these choices (acoso escolar,
version, copos de maíz, o enviar un mensaje), the use of cultural borrowing as a strategy should be reasonably
justified according to the field, tenor and mode of the text, and the TT would need to show consistency as regards
related choices.

Calque takes place when the SL expression is borrowed, but literally translated, as in ‘The White House’ (la Casa
Blanca). Whatever the choice, once again, it needs to be transparent enough and properly justified and the translator
should try to be consistent in his/her use of strategies when dealing with cultural references throughout the text.

Communicative translation is considered a solution that looks for a familiar and comprehensible counterpart to use
in the TT, and this is frequently attained via generalisation and/or expansion. This happens very often in the
translation of idioms. Other possible examples could include translation choices related to festivals or food. Using
this type of strategy would be relatively neutral in terms of the maintenance of the original message.

Cultural transplantation happens when the SL cultural item is replaced by a TL specific cultural reference. Changing
a SL newspaper, the name of a famous square or a famous dish into TL ones (‘The New York Times’ > ‘El Pais’)
perfectly exemplifies this strategy. This solution is often used when the translation of humour is at stake, so that the
effect of the translation is as direct and straightforward as possible. However, it could seem a very extreme option
sometimes, since the addressee may undergo some sort of cultural shock when El País or la Puerta del Sol appear in
a text that, with no doubt, is originally British.

Although deletion or complete omission of the entire cultural reference is also a possibility, it is not the most
recommended strategy by far, since it would imply an important translation loss.

3.3 Translation Loss

If we want to remain as faithful as possible to the original message and create a similar effect on the target audience,
the so-called principle of “the equivalent effect” in the translation of humanist texts is nearly impossible to achieve
through all the layers that make up a TT.
Frequently, a particular SL word, phrase or concept will find no equivalent in the target culture. Hence, instead of
trying to create an equivalent effect, translators need to identify the term and attempt to recreate it using the most
appropriate strategies and techniques at their disposal. This challenging task is accompanied by the fact that the
same text can have different effects on different reader groups and this effect may change through time too.

The fact that something will always be inevitably loss in translation should be known and accepted and the degree
of loss will vary from text to text, as well as among different translation versions of the same ST. The translator will
have to try to minimise such losses as much as possible, and forget about the idea of the perfect translation, since it
may never exist.

In this line, Haywood directly relate the concepts of translation loss and compensation. Translation loss usually
occurs when cultural references are at stake. But differences at word level (when a particular expressive or evoked
meaning is lost) or at grammar level (‘to have something done’ loses the original effect when translated in Spanish
as Me he cortado el pelo) may also imply some kind of loss.

Once we accept translation loss, we need to look for the best solutions that may minimise such losses and
counterbalance them whenever possible, producing the corresponding gains to the TT that may lead to the most
acceptable TT possible. To do so, the translator must make compromises. The type of compromise will often depend
on the nature and purpose of the two communicative situations at stake (the ST one and the TT one).

However, when the compromise we need to make is not totally acceptable (probably because the translation loss is
too big and it hinders the accurate transfer of the corresponding message), a compensation of some sort normally
needs to be introduced.

TYPE OF DESCRIPTION EXAMPLES

COMPENSATION

Compensation Different linguistic devices from Introducing the use of usted in a Spanish TT when
those of the ST are used to reproduce the English ST makes a frequent use of politeness
in kind a similar effect. markers

Compensation in The same effect is achieved in a Using an expletive in translation for dubbing in a
place different point in the text different point of the dialogue because it does
not match the mouth movements at the time it
is uttered in the original

Compensation by Complex phrases in the ST are This often happens when translation by omission
merging condensed into shorter chunks in the is involved: ‘Pull yourself together’ – Cálmate
TT.

Compensation by Messages need to be expanded in This is usually the case when translation by
splitting longer stretches in the TT. paraphrasing is involved: ‘a gap year’ – un año de
Descanso antes de la Universidad.

Obviously, the borders between the previous types of compensation are not clear-cut, and translator’s decisions
often imply the use of more than one type simultaneously. Compensation frequently plays a role when connotative
meaning (the associations which are made above the denotative meaning of a word or expression that contribute
to its overall meaning) is at stake. Given that this type of meaning is socially and culturally determined, some degree
of translation loss typically takes place too.

Six main types of connotative meaning need to be distinguished:

Attitudinal meaning: it conveys a common attitude socially held towards the referent. Words such as chapuzas in a
Spanish text imply a specific social attitude towards the people carrying out the corresponding jobs that is difficult
to transfer to English. Hence, depending on the skoops of the translation and the tenor, field and mode of the text,
the translator will need to decide whether to accept such losses or to compensate for them somehow.

Associative meaning: it appears when there are certain cultural stereotypes associated to the referent that are
difficult to transfer. The negative connotation a word such as españolada would be a challenge for the translator
and probably some form of compensation for the corresponding loss of connotative meaning would be required.

Affective meaning: it is related to the personal emotional effect a particular expression or sentence has on the
receiver of the message. Sometimes, the use of formal or informal register may give the translator the clue to
understand a certain affective meaning, while in other cases it might be more challenging to identify. ‘Could you
please give me that back?’ could be transferred as Haz el favor de darme eso or ¿Me das eso, por favor?, depending
on the corresponding affective meaning. This type of meaning only implies translation loss if it is not detected.

Reflected meaning: it stems from linguistic ambiguity derived from the form of the term. The translation of the title
and many related references in the famous play The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wild, would be a suitable
example. A clear translation loss exists here and different versions of the play include compensations in place
throughout the text to counterbalance such loss.

Collocative meaning: it is related to the associations a word or phrase usually has with the linguistic elements it
collocates with. A collocation such as ‘make an impression’ can cause a collocative clash if translated hacer una
impression, so translators always need to be aware of this type of meaning to avoid potential translation errors. On
the other hand, in the expressions tener un humor de or la cabra siempre tira al, one would expect something specific
(perros/monte) to come next, but if something else would be included instead in a marked manner, that collocative
connotation would be a challenge to transfer to the TT. The translator would have to decide whether compensation
is necessary to counterbalance the potential translation loss once the corresponding compromise is made.

Allusive meaning: when the meaning of a saying or quotation is evoked. We can take the quotations ‘All the world’s
a stage’, that, used in any text, would evoke something for the English audience that would be difficult to transfer
into another language; hence, translation loss would take place and some sort of compensation would be most likely
required.

CHAPTER 4 – LACK OF EQUIVALENCE IN TRANSLATION:

METHODS, STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES

Someone new to translation may easily wonder whether his or her translation is either too literal or too free or
whether s/he is using the right method or technique to solve a particular translation problem. These thoughts are
commonly referred to as degrees of fidelity in translation.

When we translate we should try to find the most adequate degree of fidelity possible according to the purpose of
our translation, that will often equal the most effective balance between naturalness and accuracy in the TT. We
need to be as accurate as possible to the ST but also produce linguistic messages that sound as natural as possible
in the TL. To reach this goal, a series of guidelines should be followed, but the translator’s personal touch may often
be the definite element that will tell the difference between a good, a mediocre and a poor TT.

Our translation choices will start to be determined by the text genre (a job ad, an informal email, etc.) and its type
(literary, legal, etc.), as well as by the purpose of the translation and the expected audience. We will have to make
use of the most appropriate translation strategies and techniques to sole the various translation problems and
challenges that may arise in the course of a particular translation task.
There may never by just one perfect translation, but we may most likely encounter various correct and faithful
renderings of the same text. Hence, since the idea of a single, perfect one-to-one translation may lead us to a dead
end, flexibility and creativity are left for us so as to favour real and effective communication in translation. Although
translation loss may be inevitable on many occasions, what really matters is to understand translation as a
communicative act, and not as the search for the ‘perfect’ equivalent.

The gap between the two languages and cultures involved in the translation task should be minimised as much as
possible. The crucial role of translators lies in being able to mediate between the text and the reader and to
understand the subtle aspects that prevail at different micro (word, grammar) and macro (text, discourse) levels,
where they also need to decipher all the possible and implied messages involved.

4.1 Translation Methods, Strategies and Techniques: Searching for the Right Terminology

In order to tackle a particular translation problem, the translator must make a conscious decision that implies using
a justified translation strategy or technique and the result is the corresponding translation solution incorporated
into the TT. To reach these solutions, we have a series of tools at our disposal.

First of all, a distinction between methods, strategies and techniques needs to be made. A Method will be considered
the general translation process applied to the text as a whole, so that it directly affects the particular strategies and
techniques each translator will select and it will most often depend on the particular purpose and function of the
translation at hand.

METHOD BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Literal translation The closest translation equivalents are used at different levels; it may serve as a pre-
translation process, but as a method, it is not very practical nowadays.

Faithful translation A high degree of fidelity to the ST is applied in this method “within the constraints of the
TL grammatical structures”.

Semantic translation Fidelity and flexibility are combined to provide a TT that conveys the exact message
contained in the ST allowing for the necessary compromises that may make the
translation more accessible for the audience.

Adaptation A free form of translation commonly used as a method to translate theatre plays and
poetry, where the cultural context is adapted to make it totally accessible for the TT
audience, who may enjoy the work as if it was written originally for the target culture.

Communicative An exact contextual rendering of the original is provided so that both the content and
translation the language are communicative enough for the TT audience.

The election of one in particular frequently depends on the purpose of the translation and on the expected audience.
The most frequently used methods (and also the most efficient) are the so-called semantic and communicative.
Semantic translation is more ST-oriented and communicative translation more TT-oriented. In any case, both of
them can be used to produce good natural and accurate TTs. The text type and genre, as well as the purpose of the
translation and the characteristics of the expected readers will easily call for one or the other.

Although the methods included in the previous chart is to be used as a reference in this monograph, Hurtado Albir’s
distinction of four main methods should also be borne in mind:

1. Interpretative-communicative > translation of the sense, maintaining the purpose and effect, as well as
the text function and genre of the ST.
 2. Literal > linguistic transcodification, where the main aim is to reproduce the linguistic form of the ST.
3. Free > modification of semiotic or communicative categories with two levels:
a. Adaptation > as it usually happens in the translation of theatre plays
b. Free version > where the TT moves even further away from the original
4. Philological > academic or critical translation, including translation notes and comments and typically
directed at scholars or students.

Once we decide which method to apply, we would need to look for the appropriate strategies and techniques
necessary to deal with the specific translation problems and challenges that may arise. Strategies are the general
procedures through which translators solve specific problems that come up when they are working on a TT, and the
solution found is to be materialised by the use of a specific translation technique.

The following strategies and techniques are aimed at helping translators to avoid literal translation whenever
possible. Sometimes we may use them without really thinking that we are applying a specific strategy and/or
technique, but more often than one a specific solution for a particular translation problem might not be so
straightforward, and the translator will find it useful to have a categorisation of possible resources at hand.

4.2 Source Text Oriented Strategies and Techniques

The most obvious ST oriented strategy is foreignisation. These four techniques described below are rather common
in translation, no matter the method chosen to permeate the whole text.

• Literal translation does not necessarily imply a word by word translation because it also involves the idea
of group by group or clause by clause translation.
o Good question > Buena pregunta
o Of my own daughter > de mi propia hija

• Equivalence > the mere inclusion of linguistic items (such as proper names or names of places) unmodified
in the TT.
o Peter > Peter
o Pittsburgh > Pittsburgh

• Borrowing (or loan) > this technique is typically used when the TL has no obvious or direct counterpart for
a particular linguistic item, and the translator decides to borrow the word directly from the SL. Borrowings
can be:
o Pure > Hacker > hacker; hashtag > hashtag
o Naturalised > tuitear, emoticono, or wasapear

• Calque > this technique involves a literal translation of a SL linguistic item that, in some cases, is
accompanied by an explanation. Calques are often long established and totally integrated as neologisms in
the TL. They may be graded as:
o Approximate > Homeless > los sin techo
o Literal > greenhouse effect > efecto invernadero
o Free > software > programa informático
Whenever there is another acceptable alternative in the TL, calque may not be the most desirable
technique.

The use of these techniques does not imply a ST-oriented translation; they are merely ST-oriented techniques that
may be used whenever necessary.

4.3 Target Text Oriented Strategies and Techniques

The TT oriented strategies and techniques mentioned bellow are independent from the translation method chosen.
However, most of them are selected when we attempt to follow the conventions of the TL and they usually focus on
the naturalness of the result of the translation process.

Although the best-known TT oriented strategy is domestication, the categories included below do not necessarily
need to be employed within a domesticated TT.

• Adaptation > it is a strategy where various types of translation problems and challenges can be solved by
adapting the ST element both to the TL and to the target culture. Adaptation is related to domestication
and it can be considered an extreme form of translation, since the solution often deviates from the original
to a considerable extent. Techniques involved in adaptation:

o Cultural substitution > replaces a ST cultural element with one from the target culture
▪ He is a great baseball fan > Es un fanático del futbol

o Paraphrasing > entails rephrasing the ST element to adapt it to the TL and culture, by reproducing
its sense
▪ Bonfire Night > el 5 de noviembre, fiesta en el Reino Unido

o Omission > a total removal of the ST linguistic item takes place

▪ The kicky opening sequence serves as an audition piece, a mini “Chorus Line”
acquainting… > Esta ingeniosa secuencia inaugural nos sirve de audición y nos mete de
lleno…

o Appropiation > the effect of an expression is kept, transferring the concept to the target culture
▪ Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? > ¿Podría compararte con un día de primavera?

o Lexical recreation > happens when the translator has to create neologism because the ST contains
a made-up word
▪ Frenaissance > reamistamiento

o Variation > changes affecting the linguistic variation of the ST (such as accent, dialect, style, etc.)
are produced, as it often happens in the translation of theatre plays or in the translation for
dubbing, where specific features are involved

• Compensation > if something cannot be directly translated, we might choose to compensate the translation
loss by:
o omitting it in its original place and adding another linguistic element somewhere else in the TT.
▪ to introduce usted in a Spanish TT when the English ST makes a frequent use of politeness
markers
o Expansion > employed to compensate translation loss when extra details that are not included in
the ST need to be introduced in the TT.
▪ the Museum of London is centrally located in the City > el Museo de Londres se encuentra
en la céntrica zona conocida como la City

• Modulation > there is a subtle change in concept, so the idea expressed in the ST is presented from a
different point of view in the TT.

MODULATION TECHNIQUES EXAMPLES

Change of concept, image or metaphor (abstract for ‘sit by the fire’ > sentarse junto a la chimenea
concrete, reversal of terms, one part for another,
change of symbols, etc.) ‘from cover to cover’ > de la primera a la ultima pagina
 Health insurance > seguro de enfermedad

To push up daisies > criar malvas

On your head be it > es tu responsabilidad

Minor detail > detalle sin importancia

Shallow > poco profundo

Change the point of view, focus or cognitive category You are going to be a mother > vas a tener un hijo
(active for passive, positive for negative, negative for
positive, etc.) Don’t delay > date prisa

It seems unlikely that > es muy probable que

Reformulation can also be said to be a technique involved in modulation. It is used in cases where we may
have to express an idea in a completely different way. This technique is very often employed to translate
movie titles: ‘The Sound of Music’ > Sonrisas y Lagrimas

• Neutralisation > this strategy is opted when we find terms that do not need to be translated, or cannot be
translated because of certain constraints.
o Simplification > Can we bury the hachet? > ¿Hacemos las paces?
o Omission > linguistic science > lingüística
o Linguistic compression > involves synthesising linguistic elements in the TT
▪ And what’s the point? > ¿Por?
o Contraction > where something becomes less detailed, or when information that is unnecessary,
irrelevant or potentially confusing, is eliminated.

• Specification (particularization) > this strategy tries to make the text more accessible to the target audience
by producing a more particular word or phrase. It is commonly used to avoid confusion, ambiguity or
undesirable connotations in the TT.
o Explicitation > to make explicit a content that was implicit in the ST element, in order to facilitate
its understanding
▪ he was enjoying the show > estaba disfrutando de la coreografía
o Addition > when an element that was absent in the ST text is added up to help the audience
understand the meaning of a particular linguistic item
▪ They bring him to Alcatraz > Lo llevan a la cárcel de Alcatraz

• Substitution > it is a strategy whereby the original ST element is replaced with something within recognition
and understanding of the target audience.
o Cultural substitution > replacing the cultural term in the ST with a cultural term belonging to the
target culture
▪ Around tea time > sobre la hora del té
o Paraphrasing > entails rephrasing the ST element to adapt it to the TL
▪ Called the Discipline of Verification > Percibido socialmente como una labor de verificación
o Reduction > it is normally used when there is not a corresponding term in the TL
▪ once she has her crown and royal robes on > con la corona y la vestimenta propias
o Description > an item (normally a culturally related one) is substituted, in this case by its
description
▪ Flea-flicker > pase de estrategia en el futbol americano
o Generalisation > implies replacing an element that refers specifically to something with a more
general expression. This technique is regarded as a low fidelity one.
 ▪ lap dance > baile

• Transposition > this is a strategy where grammatical structures (when they are not the same in the two
languages involved) change when translated.

TRANSPOSITION TECHNIQUES EXAMPLES

Recategorisation > replacing one class/type of word for Training the Strength of the Body > entrenando la
another without changing its meaning fuerza corporal

Nerve cell > celula nerviosa

Nominalisation Early this year > a principios de año

He found it difficult to > tuvo dificultad para

Change of number Furniture > muebles

The history of sports > la historia del deporte

Restructuring He had his hair cut > se corto el pelo

He run into the house > entro en la casa corriendo

He was given a present > le dieron un regalo

The use of footnotes and glossaries should also be mentioned as a possible translation solution to a particular
translation problem. When a text is too foreign for the target culture, and it contains a good number of terms that
are hard to grasp, the translator may include a final glossary so as to avoid an excessive use of explicitation and
expansion and thus, make the reading more fluent.

When facing a problem or difficulty, the translator has to decide which of the aforementioned resources are the
most convenient in each situation and so adapt them to the corresponding translation context.
4.4. The Translation of Humour

The various possible general strategies the translator has available when dealing with verbal humour are mentioned
in the table bellow accompanied by examples.

STRATEGIES EXAMPLES

Leave the humorous element unchanged Saturday afternoon. About tea time.
(resorting to literal translation and
maintaining formal equivalence) Sábado por la tarde. Hacia la hora del té.

Replace the humorous element with a PILATE: What’s so funny about ‘Biggus Dickus’?
different instance of humour in the TL.
PILATO: ¿Qué tiene de guasa Pijus Magnificus?

DEADLY DIRK: You bastards! We’ve been planning this for months.
 Replace the humorous element with an FRANCIS: Well, tough titty for you. Fish Face. Oh! Oh.
idiomatic expression in the TL (so as to
achieve a similar outcome) DIRK: Lo Llevamos planeando meses

FRANCIS: Pues te jodes como Herodes

FOLLOWERS: The Messiah! The Messiah! Show us the Messiah!

MANDY: The who?

FOLLOWERS: The Messiah!

MANDY: Hug, there’s no Messiah in here. There’s a mess, all right,

but no Messiah. Now, go away!
Omit the humorous element
SEGUIDORES: ¡Muéstranos al Mesías!

MANDY: ¿A quién?

SEGUIDORES: ¡Al Mesías!

MANDY: ¡Aquí no hay mas que mierda! ¡Largo!

The translation of this type of elements related to humour should aim at recreating the linguistic ambiguity
contained in the SL with a parallel degree of ambiguity in the TT. On many occasions, culture-specific elements take
an important part in the translation of humour, so the process turns even more complex. Probably the most
appropriate solution in most cases would involve replacing the corresponding joke or humoristic instance with a
different one pertaining to the TL so that the skopos or purpose of the translation is retained and the resulting TT
may be equally successful in being funny. However, this outcome is not always easy and provided that humour does
not exist on its own but as part of a text, the whole text should always be considered before opting for a particular
solution.

Apparently, the main condition for any humorous verbal extract to be a joke is to have a punchline or some kind of
final twist or wordplay. A classification of jokes based on the translator’s perspective may be:

1. International jokes
2. National-culture-and-institutions jokes
3. National-sense-of-humour jokes
4. Language-dependent jokes
5. Visual jokes
6. Complex jokes.

Depending on the type of joke, one type of solution or another will apply.

An example of the first type could be:

An example of the fourth type may be:

One of the most common verbal elements used to convey humour are puns and wordplay. Such instances of humour
present a high degree of difficulty regarding translation, because they involve a complex form of linguistic
manipulation which is very difficult to transfer into another language.

• Pun to pun: the ST pun is translated by a TL pun

o ‘Monican’ and ‘Monican’t’ > Monicapaz and Monincapaz
• Pun to non pun: the pun is transferred either as a non-punning phrase or a paraphrase or combination of
both
o Westminster Crabby > El gruñón de Westminster
• Pun to related rhetorical device: the pun is rendered through a rhetorical device (repetition, alliteration,
rhyme, referential vagueness, irony, paradox, etc.) which tries to recreate the effect of the ST pun
o There is no more left left > no hay más izquierda izquierda
• Pun to zero: the pun is omitted
• ST pun copied as a TT pun: the pun is kept equivalent, not translated
o Mississi-Pete > Mississi-Pete
• Non pun to pun: a new pun is introduced, often as a compensation technique to make up for a lost pun
somewhere else in the text
• Editorial techniques: explanatory footnotes or endnotes, comments, etc., that may explain the effect of a
particular pun or group of puns.

When it comes to translating jokes and puns, most pitfalls arise at phonetic and lexical levels. By contrast, when
dealing with irony, the textual level is more likely to be involved. Although in none of the three cases (jokes, puns
and irony) absolute rules can be provided, many times a combination of several techniques is the only way to find
an acceptable solution.

4.5 Translation Quality and Translation Errors

It is difficult to set absolute standards of translation quality. The only thing we can do is evaluate TTs as more or less
appropriate according to a particular translation goal.

As a rule, it could be said that the degree of quality in a translation is directly related to the amount and nature of
errors found, and errors are obviously related to the translation problems that cause them. But, can we establish a
typology of translation problems? The real typology is almost impossible to grasp given the great amount of possible
problems depending on the ST one is dealing with.

Be it as it may, errors always need to be considered in context, and so their particular relevance is directly defined
by how they impact the purpose and effect of the TT. But, what is a translation error? We could probably say that
an error takes place when there is a change in the ST original content or message or in the communicative effect of
the ST, or even when the use of words, syntactic structures, textual devices or pragmatic elements are not correct
in the TL.

TYPES OF ERRORS EXAMPLES

Errors of adequacy that affect the overall Unnecessary omissions or additions, false sentences,
comprehension of the ST. nonsensical renderings, message changes, and
linguistic variation or extralinguistic reference badly
solved.
 Errors of adequacy as far as the use of the TL is Grammar, punctuation, spelling, lexical problems/
concerned. errors; textual aspects wrongly rendered (cohesion,
coherence, thematic organisation, etc.); and writing
problems (faulty expression, poor vocabulary, etc.)

Pragmatic errors Mismatch regarding the purpose of the translation

(skopos, receivers, etc.), the translation method
chosen, the text genre and its conventions, etc.

What cannot be forgotten is that the views of fidelity, equivalence, and acceptability usually differ on the theoretical
stance of the receiver. This is especially true when it comes to analysing the acceptability of the various possible
translation techniques used to solve a particular translation challenge.

Therefore, all things considered, when the overall comprehension of the TT works appropriately, the ST messages
are accurately transferred, the text organisation is functional and correct, the effect of the communication is
correctly accomplished, and the register and style are consistently rendered and kept, the TT can be said to have
achieved a sufficient degree of quality.

UNIT V

CHALLENGES IN NON-SPECIALISED TRANSLATION: THE TRANSLATION OF LITERATURE

Is it possible to translate literature, or will the resulting TT unavoidably be a new work of art? The answer to this
question will obviously depend on the literary genre and on the specific features of the original literary work, its
author, the purpose of the translation, and the proficiency of the translator.

A series of relevant aspects should be considered when facing the task of translating literature, no matter the genre:
the sender or author, the intention, the receivers, the medium, the place, the time and the motive, the message,
and the effect or function (aesthetic, poetic, emotional, etc.). But, how can translators deal with such special texts
that go beyond the linguistic and pragmatic layers described in Chapter 2 to create parallel works of art in the TL?

1. TRANSLATING POETRY

The translation of poetic texts is probably one of the most challenging tasks for a translator. Poetry should be
translated as it is read by a competent literary reader, so that the feelings derived from the reading of the ST may
be projected as precisely as possible into the TT. However, part of the original effect, power and musicality will most
likely remain untranslated.

The translation of poetic texts has always been polemic. One can read two translated versions of the same collection
of poems and feel s/he is reading two different authors/sets of poems, depending of the approach taken by the
corresponding translator.

Newmark highlights the word and the line as the most important units to consider when translating poetry. The way
each word relates to the form and structure of the poem is paramount to decide how to transfer it to the TT. In
addition, the word does not usually portray meaning in a direct way, but rhetorical devices take the possible
connotations of every single word to a higher level, making the creative work of the literary translator even more
challenging. This special use of words and phrases is typically referred to as the figurative use of language. And what
happens with the musicality each word has within a specific poem? Even if a good imitation or compensation is
achieved, the sound of the TT will differ from that of the ST, so the emotions produced in the reader will inevitably
vary.
Apart from the word, the verse/line and the stanza need to be considered as fundamental translation units that are
perfectly combined to cause the expected effect on the audience. Hence, these elements, together with the style,
the tone, the rhythm, the metre, the rhyme, the overall musicality, etc., are to be pondered by the translator before
deciding how to recreate the original poetic content and effect into the TT.

Probably the most reasonable approach to the translation of poetry is to undertake the recreation of the poem
trying to balance naturalness and accuracy combined with the poetic style of the translator, who somehow needs
to turn into a poet him/herself to produce a quality TT. Unfortunately, it is difficult to speak of universal rules or
techniques that may be of use to carry out this specific task.

The following chart summarises a well-known distinction of various basic approaches that can be applied to the
translation of poems:

APPROACH DESCRIPTION

Phonemic translation It imitates the ST sounds while paraphrasing the sense. It may be problematic
since the sense could end up suffering excessively from the attempt to keep the
sound effects.

Literal translation A word-for-word translation that frequently transforms the sense and the effect
of the original too much, since the figurative use of language is disregarded.

Metrical translation It tries to render the sense as accurately and naturally as possible, yet the
communicative value and all other poetic aspects are likely to be distorted

Rhymed translation By focusing on imitating the rhyme of the original, the sense and the style will
inevitably be affected

Blank/Free verse translation The structure and the sense are kept, but the rhyme and the metre are
disregarded. It will probably allow for a greater global accuracy in the final TT.

Interpretation A complete change of form is produced through an imitation that produces a new
poem with the same title and point of departure.

The most reasonable (and frequent) option from the ones outlined above is blank verse, that tries to keep the
structure and these sense at the same time.

No matter the selected approach, the power of every single word within each verse and stanza should be analysed
at all times, since the figurative use of language is paramount in poetry. Additionally, provided that poems reach
frequently beyond their meaning and form, translators should try, if possible, to honour each poem’s spirit: in other
words, the style and, above all, the effect it produces on the audience. In order to keep that spirit, the translator
needs to read the ST as many times as necessary to really feel the rhythm, the energy and the exact power of its
effect. Finally, at times, some poetic license may be used to achieve graceful solutions.

5.2 TRANSLATING PROSE

Prose translators may also encounter a great number of difficulties. The translation of prose needs to consider
content and form as equally important and so the task cannot be undertaken until the whole structure of the ST is
understood after a first complete reading. Additionally, although the form and structure of short stories or folk tales
may be grasped more easily, that of novels is rarely that clear; even if chapters divide the work in a more or less
organised way, its real formal organisation may not be as linear as the chapter’s division indicate.
The main translation units of every text (be it chapters, paragraphs or other) should be identified before undertaking
the translation task. Then, the translator must bear in mind the combination of the function of the text itself and
that of each of the devices used in the text as a whole: the function of the tone, the function of the description, the
function of each character, the function of a specific dialect, etc. Also prose translators need to know the process of
literary creation to recreate it in the TT, being able to produce the suspension of disbelief in an audience who, most
likely, would rather ignore that they are reading a translation.

Among the main challenges that can be encountered when dealing with prose translation, we may mention:

• the bald cultural differences that usually exist, where a consistent decision must be taken as far as how to
deal with them throughout the whole work. Then, once again, the feeling produced on the reader should
be replicated to recreate the work of art, so the translation of the spirit of the work is likewise relevant in
this context.
• Besides, when humour or non-standard language are used, they need to be managed and transferred to
the TT as accurately and naturally as possible.
• Additionally, the translator needs to be aware of the author’s idiosyncrasy, to be familiar with his/her other
works, style and symbolic and evocative universe, so as to produce the corresponding artistic and
communicative effects on the TT audience.

Here follows a series of guidelines that may be useful for the prose translator:

• The ST must be considered as an integral unit, and its sections and formal structure must always be borne
in mind when translating every single extract.
• The various levels of equivalence need to be considered at all times and consistently transferred in the
context of the TL and culture, so that the reader can interpret them naturally.
• The intention of the messages is a key element. If a phrase cannot keep the weight of the ST intention in
the translation, it will need to be rephrased or expanded as required so that the intention can be maintained
as accurately as possible.
• False friends need to be avoided so that they do not bring confusion to the TT.
• Translators should try to avoid embellishing the original. They need to recreate the work of art, but their
role should not involve a new artistic creation.

5.3 TRANSLATING DRAMA

The main purpose of translating drama is most often to make the text susceptible of successful performance in from
of a target audience, producing a similar effect to that of the original play; besides, the reception of this TT also
differs from other translations since the theatre audience introduces a public dimension. It implies that drama
translators cannot clarify any cultural reference or linguistic ambiguity using footnotes nor signal any particular
emphasis through punctuation or stylistic marks.

The definitory element of this type of translation is its performance on stage or ‘playability’, so the resulting TT needs
to involve a combination or oral and written characteristics. Given that the target audience receives the text live,
the translator cannot use strategies valid for written texts where the reader can pause to understand especially
complex fragments. Even if the performance follows a dialogue extracted from a written text, the translator will
have to visualise the performance and to listen to the actor’s voices, so to speak, in order to produce a good TT.
Every single element (pauses, irony, emphasis, register, tone) needs to be captured by the translator to be re-
expressed in the TT.

Additionally, the diversity of textual genres (comedy, drama, tragedy) and subgenres makes the task of the translator
even more challenging to undertake. This together with the number of participants (producer, director, actors, etc.),
who need to interpret and adapt the text in one way or another, make the theatre a constant process of translation
in itself.

Each specific drama translation case is different, depending on all the elements at stake (potential audience,
participants involved in the staging of the play, time and place, etc.). The options may range from a quite faithful
translation to a free version or various forms and degrees of adaptation.

Merino Alvarez points out three distinct textual levels to be considered in drama translation:

• The macro level refers to the specific structure of the text, that consists of dialogue and frame (stage
directions, name of the characters, etc.), and is divided into utterances, scenes and acts.
• The micro level contains the specific language included in the ST and it affects different planes (word,
phrase, sentence, utterance, etc.), and various strategies and techniques (described in Chapter 4) are to be
applied to deal with them.
• The intersystemic level includes the analysis of previous translations of the play, the possible existence of
revised editions of the ST, the performance of the play in the source culture or previous performances in
the target culture, the reaction of the audience and/or the critics to such performances, etc.

Additionally, the following specific challenges need to be borne in mind while this task is carried out:

CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION

The specific nature of the A written text where the characters speak through monologues and dialogues;
theatrical language a combination of written style with oral communication features; plus specific
dialects that may define a particular character or set of characters.

The inherent characteristics of Each genre will pose a specific and distinct challenge to the translation task.
each dramatic genre

The performance of the TT The audience needs to understand and react immediately to the reception of
the play, so translation solutions need to consider this aspect at all times.

The particular theatrical Each staging of a play contains elements (derived from the present theatrical
transposition conventions, the production, the artistic direction, the actor’s performance,
etc.) that will probably condition the work of the translator and inevitable
entail the corresponding modifications in the final TT.

Merino Alvarez makes a very clear distinction between:

• Adaptation implies the interlinguistic transfer of a series of cultural and temporal elements that need to be
adapted to a particular country, time, and audience.
• Version is linked to a free recreation for the stage a particular stage director makes of a foreign play
• Translation often refers to a faithful rendering of the original, that is typically linked to written editions of
the ST.

5.4 DEALING WITH LANGUAGE

Dialects are considered non-standard because they deviate from an established standard variation of the language.
In the process of developing a character, the author may decide to give him or her a certain degree of extra
authenticity by indicating his/her origin through the way s/he speaks.

Dealing with dialect in translation often represents an important challenge, so a series of general strategies the
translator may opt for to be kept consistently throughout the TT are included below.
 STRATEGY DESCRIPTION

Parallel dialect translation Choose some form of non-standard variety in the TL so as to parallel the ST
characterisation

Dialect explanation Opt for making reference to the presence of dialect, while using standard
language only

Standardisation Ignore the non-standard language in the TT completely.

Parallel dialect translation is more often used in drama or in translation for dubbing than in prose, provided the
challenge involved in transferring phonetic and prosodic deviations in written form. Besides, choosing a parallel form
of dialect in the TL may not illustrate the specific aspect of the character the original text aimed at.

If the translator opts for choosing a non-standard variety in the TL, s/he will need to select the most parallel form to
the original and s/he needs to know how to use it perfectly, so as to keep it totally consistent throughout the whole
TT. It is especially challenging and one needs to be a real expert in the TL dialect chosen to transfer it correctly and
consistently in the TT.

Dialect explanation would seem to be the safest option of the three. Even if you lose an important feature that
describes the character in the ST, at least the TT reader is aware of that peculiarity and can imagine it when s/he
thinks about that particular character.

When translators opt for dialect explanation they need to be aware that there is an expansion to compensate for
the translation loss derived from the neutralisation of the dialectal features. Considering that there is an inclusion
of certain extra explanations that did not exist in the original, their use should not be excessive. A reasonable solution
would probably entail an explicit comment the first time the character speaks (e.g., - dijo con su particular acento
sureño), and then decide when it is necessary to remind the reader in future sections of the text.

The translator’s note on the type of dialect that typifies a particular character breaks for a second the suspension of
disbelief created in the text, by introducing an alien element that may be felt as an obstacle for the enjoyment of
the work of art.

Standardisation totally neutralises the presence of the SL dialect in the TT. It is probably the easiest solution and a
frequently used one, even if it brings about an important translation loss.

There are other more specific techniques that have also been defined and used by different translators and scholars:

• Dialect compilation consists in turning the SL dialect into a mixture of TL dialects in an attempt to
counterbalance the potential rejection that the use of a single TL dialect may produce in the TL reader. The
problem will probably lie in how to mix dialects consistently enough to avoid confusion in the TT reader.
• Pseudo-dialect translation would entail the creation of an inverted and undefined dialect, maybe presenting
features of different dialects
• Dialect localisation is often used in drama translation, where not only the dialects, but also the names of
the characters, the setting, and the cultural references are adapted to the TL, producing a domesticated
translation that could perhaps be considered more an adaptation of the ST.

Although idiolects are frequently crucial to identify a particular character, they are more easily transferred into the
TL. The specific hedges and syntactic constructions or lexical items should be identified by the translator and
rendered in the TL in a consistent way, so that the corresponding character can also be identified in the TT by his/her
particular idiolect, if any.
The great variety of uses the different dialects may have in a particular text need to be analysed in detail by the
translator beforehand so as to make the most reasonable decision on how to deal with them in the TT. The final
decision will have to justified and kept consistently throughout the translation, in order to produce a similar effect
and cause parallel emotions to those of the original in the TL audience.

5.5 THE ART OF TRANSLATION

Translation is based on the science of language, so translators must be extra proficient in the two linguistic codes
involved in the process. Some scholars throughout the years have ultimately defended that good translators are
born, not made. However, art can also be learned.

If the science of translation can be learned, so can its art. It is just a matter of knowing the two languages, cultures,
and literary systems as well as possible, and to understand the theory and practice of the translation process.
Additionally, translators will always need to keep learning about the specific area they are working with, the genre,
the author, or the specific historical period relevant for a particular translation. Apart from that, the study of a
language is also endless. Translation practice will never be bases just on an exact science because its scope is so wide
and in such constant evolution and change that hopefully no computer will ever be able to measure and systematise
the mechanisms that need to be followed to produce quality translations.

The TT will never be a perfect translation of the original because perfect translations do not exist, provided that
something will always be inevitable lost: the specific dialectal features, the meaning the original cultural references,
a particular humorous effect. Not to mention the lack of equivalence at different linguistic levels.

The beauty of translation lies precisely in this flexibility that allows for the existence of multiple translated versions
of the very same ST, all of which can be perfectly valid. There are no wrong translation solutions as long as they are
properly justified. Translation loss will always be there because it is an unavoidable part of the task. It may be turned
into a gain the TT provided the most adequate methods, strategies and techniques for each situation are
scrupulously selected.